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Finally got to ride!!

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bones

bones

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Joined
Feb 12, 2007
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Location
Cedar Rapids, IA
First Name
Chris
Last Name
Zubak
FINALLY got a chance to ride this hooker today. I chopped through 6-10" of ice at the end of my drive to get out it was so nice today (60).

Bike is quiet as heck (unsure I want a pipe now), real nice power. Engine and trans are real smooth. Once on the interstate I got to roll on it and it's got the torque people say they do! It's so smooth I noticed twice I was at near 100 and it was at 5500rpms in 6th. Not even struggling. Cruising at 75-80 it's at 4500, love it

New screen is on order already from Powerbonz, will get new grips this week. Those are my only two gripes about it so far. If anything it's too upright for me, so my Genmar bar risers that came with it may not get installed. Felt a lot like my KLR really. I prefer how my VFR feels to be honest. I am sure I will get used to it.
 
bones said:
FINALLY got a chance to ride this hooker today. I chopped through 6-10" of ice at the end of my drive to get out it was so nice today (60).

Bike is quiet as heck (unsure I want a pipe now), real nice power. Engine and trans are real smooth. Once on the interstate I got to roll on it and it's got the torque people say they do! It's so smooth I noticed twice I was at near 100 and it was at 5500rpms in 6th. Not even struggling. Cruising at 75-80 it's at 4500, love it

New screen is on order already from Powerbonz, will get new grips this week. Those are my only two gripes about it so far. If anything it's too upright for me, so my Genmar bar risers that came with it may not get installed. Felt a lot like my KLR really. I prefer how my VFR feels to be honest. I am sure I will get used to it.
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Your bandit feels like a KLR??????????????
rworm
 
:rider: Congrats Bones!!!! I don't think I've ever seen a person contribute more to a forum without actually riding their new bike. :eek2:


I got out for a 300 mile ride yesterday. Agree with you on the exhaust sound - I kind of enjoy the quiet. Torque MONSTER on highway too!!!!


On the grips - do yourself a favor and pick up two rolls of tennis racket grip tape (not the thin web crap - the actual wrap you'd use to replace a grip). You can find it at WalMart for a couple of bucks a roll. Wrap the existing grips in the thick tape and secure the ends with a small piece of electrical tape. You'll find the grips get much wider and softer. It also eliminates any vibration (not that there is that much anyway).

Your weather should only get better from here on out.
 
etcthorne said:
:rider: Congrats Bones!!!! I don't think I've ever seen a person contribute more to a forum without actually riding their new bike. :eek2:


I got out for a 300 mile ride yesterday. Agree with you on the exhaust sound - I kind of enjoy the quiet. Torque MONSTER on highway too!!!!


On the grips - do yourself a favor and pick up two rolls of tennis racket grip tape (not the thin web crap - the actual wrap you'd use to replace a grip). You can find it at WalMart for a couple of bucks a roll. Wrap the existing grips in the thick tape and secure the ends with a small piece of electrical tape. You'll find the grips get much wider and softer. It also eliminates any vibration (not that there is that much anyway).

Your weather should only get better from here on out.
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I'll look into that, but a new set of grips is $10 and takes all of 5 minutes to install.

12 today and at least will be close to 30 most of the week. Have a trip to Oklahoma planned in 2 weeks, it better clear up!

Thanks treybrad for that bar link, I ordered them since they were only $12 (no idea on shipping costs). I will get more miles on it before I install them. Need some seat time
 
bones said:
I'll look into that, but a new set of grips is $10 and takes all of 5 minutes to install.

12 today and at least will be close to 30 most of the week. Have a trip to Oklahoma planned in 2 weeks, it better clear up!

Thanks treybrad for that bar link, I ordered them since they were only $12 (no idea on shipping costs). I will get more miles on it before I install them. Need some seat time
Click to expand...

My favorite bars for old bikes, K&N superbike bend. Some drag bars are straight, don't like that. Some have some bend to 'em. K&Ns superbike bars were sweet.
 
bones said:
Thanks treybrad for that bar link, I ordered them since they were only $12 (no idea on shipping costs). I will get more miles on it before I install them. Need some seat time
Click to expand...

I had them on my SV650 and really liked them. They are pretty much flat, it will definitely transform the bike. You might run into problems with tank clearance at full lock, but who knows until you try... for $12 it's a cheap experiment.

The SV switchgear would just baaarely touch at full lock, but it never bothered me enough to do anything about it.

trey
 
bones said:
New screen is on order already from Powerbonz,
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Well I got the screen already. Description says taller and it's the same size as the stocker as I have it off the bike wiring stuff in preparations for installing this screen. It's got a tad more arc to it and is tinted....that's it. If I wanted something just like stock only tinted, I would tint the stocker and not pay $80 for one. :angryfire I have a call into the seller and hope I can return it on his dime and get a refund and I will just stick with stock until I have time to get something at another time. Doesn't look like the weather is going to warm up for me to ride to Kansas City next weekend anyway.

I can get pics if anyone cares.
 
Bones, I haven't tried the shield you bought, but I highly recommend the Givi D262. It really is about 4" higher and puts the wind at the bottom of my full-face helmet (I'm 6' 0"). I think I paid about $117.00 from twisted throttle. Fast shipping from them too.
 
etcthorne said:
Bones, I haven't tried the shield you bought, but I highly recommend the Givi D262. It really is about 4" higher and puts the wind at the bottom of my full-face helmet (I'm 6' 0"). I think I paid about $117.00 from twisted throttle. Fast shipping from them too.
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I am done spending $$ farkling this bike. I will ride it as is, return this one and keep looking. If I can do a 6-800 mile weekend as is, I will likely deal with as I think most tall screens screw up the lines of a bike. Twisted Throttle is a nice company to deal with too.
 
400 miles one way this weekend. mid/upper 40's going down south of Kansas City, nice ride.

400 miles back, mid 30's, cold, tired, sore from 4wheeling/drinking all weekend.

Frankly I like my 94 VFR better and wish I had been able to get one I found here in Iowa before the Bandit. 06, leftover, brand new :eek2:

Windscreen sucks, and I am not a fan of 4" taller ones, but might have to go that route. 110-120 miles until the gas light starts blinking. ***!?!?! granted I was flogging it harder than normal to get there and back due to the temps. But man, 30-33mpg really blows. Rear brake is horrible and needs some adjusting I hope. Seat is crap, hoping that breaks in some more (3500 miles), even with my alaska pad, the 130 mile refills were a blessing.

So I need a new screen, not let it eat @ 80-90mph for 400 miles even though it loves it there and adjust the brakes (I hope)

Pluses, I can have a GPS, 12V plugged in, radar, heated grips on low and high the full trip and volt meter only dipped to 13.8/9 when I used the high beams. Otherwise it was 14.0/2 range. That is a nice piece of mind coming from a KLR and my VFR electrical issues I have had.

Complaining aside, I am not dogging the bike, just needs some tweaks to make it work better for me. I am not selling it, or avoiding riding it. Thinking the weather, short time frame to hang out with friends are things leading to it being a not so relished ride.
 
bones said:
110-120 miles until the gas light starts blinking. ***!?!?! granted I was flogging it harder than normal to get there and back due to the temps. But man, 30-33mpg really blows. Rear brake is horrible and needs some adjusting I hope. Seat is crap, hoping that breaks in some more (3500 miles), even with my alaska pad, the 130 mile refills were a blessing.
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Yep... it's thirsty when you run it hard. I was in a hurry going up to DFW this weekend, cruising an indicated 90mph most of the time, with a stiff headwind, and got ~35-36mpg... ouch. Took it easy on the way back, 70-75mph indicated and got 44mpg..

One thing to keep in mind is, the gas light is way premature... Even when it was coming on at 115 miles, meaning I was getting awful mileage, I went 54 miles after it first came on and only could put in 4.5 gallons or so.

trey
 
Yeah I didn't want to push my luck. It was cold and I just wanted to get home and shower/sleep. I came on with 35 miles to get home and I refueled just to be safe. hard to stay out of it on the interstates. :doh:
 
Roy said:
Add a pipe to it and it becomes even harder to do.;-)
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No thanks. I liked how quite it is for now. Too many other things to address that cost money to bother with more performance I don't need.
 
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